Archive for February, 2010

SunEdison a subsidiary of MEMC Electronic Materials has activated the first phase of its 16-megawatt (MW) solar farm in Davidson County, N.C.The first phase of the project represents 4 MW of generation capacity and is comprised of more than 14,000 solar panels. The complete system is expected to go online by the end of the year.

Massive global Smart Grid infrastructure upgrades have also spurred investments in cyber security to protect the electric grid from hackers and terrorists. Pike Research expects those investments to reach about $21 billion within five years.

As utilities around the world have initiated major smart grid infrastructure upgrades over the past several years, cyber security has become a critical priority. Security measures are designed to protect the electrical grid from attacks by terrorists and hackers, as well as strengthening its resilience against natural disasters and inadvertent threats such as equipment failures and user errors. According to a new report from Pike Research, the intense focus on smart grid cyber security from utilities, infrastructure vendors, standards bodies, and world governments is spurring a surge in revenue growth, and the cleantech market intelligence firm forecasts that the sector will increase from $1.2 billion in 2009 to $3.7 billion by 2015.

The Commerce Department’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) issued the second draft of its Smart Grid Cyber Security Strategy and Requirements, which now identifies more than 120 interfaces that will link diverse devices, systems, and organizations engaged in two-way flows of electricity and information and classifies these connections according to the risks posed by a potential security breach. This document will undergo public review, ending on April 2, 2010. After reviewing the comments received and completing ongoing analyses of requirements and relevant standards, the working group will finalize the Smart Grid cyber security strategy. NIST expects to issue a completed report by early summer.

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Residents in Sebastopol, California are worried that the installation of smart meters by Pacific Gas and Electric is a health hazard. The city held a town hall meeting to hear consumer concerns over radiation from the meters’ electromagnetic fields.  Dozens of peope addressed the City Council, many wearing “Smart Moratorium” buttons. “This is a matter of choice,” explained Nancy Hubert. “They are not allowing us a choice. I think this is pretty outrageous actually.”

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The Global Wind Energy Council this week announced that the world’s wind power capacity grew by 31% in 2009, adding 37.5 gigawatts (GW) to bring total installations up to 157.9 GW. A third of these additions were made in China, which experienced yet another year of over 100% growth. The main markets driving this significant growth continue to be Asia, North America and Europe, each of which installed more than 10 GW of new wind capacity in 2009.

How can we make people more interested in saving the environment?

Visit: www.Thefuntheory.com

The Smart Grid must be big: You can even major in it at college. At least, you’ll be able to at Cincinnati State Technical and Community College this fall.

Landis+Gyr, as part of its contribution to the development of an energy conscious future, today launches AGUILOG®, a solution designed to optimise utility operations and improve overall service efficiency.

Read the full article from Smartgridsnews.com!

Smart meters are an essential first step towards a fully-functioning smart grid.  Energy users will be able to gain insights into exactly how they are using energy and when.  It is hoped that this immediate feedback will motivate consumers to take control of their usage when in the past not much thought was given to wasting electricity.

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